


Makoto and Mariko

by Nicotaku



Category: Free!
Genre: Cute, F/M, Happy, Romance, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:40:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24586252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nicotaku/pseuds/Nicotaku
Summary: Makoto visits the pool where his best friend, Haruka and his coach Ryuji Azuma are training. Sharing the same pool is another swimmer and her coach. Makoto notices a girl in between moving her hands in an orderly manner as the coach speaks to his athlete. The athlete watches her hands' every move. What is she doing? Makoto wonders as he watches the scene unfold.
Relationships: Tachibana Makoto/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 4





	1. At First Sight

**Author's Note:**

> Of course, I've made a romantic partner for my favourite character, Tachibana Makoto. When I made her, I just finished reading A Silent Voice manga so I was really attached to the idea of a character who is a sign language interpreter. 
> 
> In Kanji, her name is written as 真理子, which means 'truth', 'reason' and 'child'.
> 
> Enjoy the story of Makoto and Mariko! :)

“I told you, what I said is better.”

“The way I’ve been swimming has been fine. I don’t need to change anything.”

“I’m your coach. You’ll do as I say!”

“I’m the one swimming. I know what’s better.”

Makoto Tachibana heaves a huge sigh as he watches from a distance. Haruka and his coach, Ryuji Azuma are having one of their disputes again. He had come to pay a visit to the pool they are training at. It is a big indoor pool used by professionals for closed training. It has multiple lanes, a couple square windows and blue flags hanging over the cool blue chlorine-filled water. Haruka Nanase, his childhood friend, is quite a looker. Though a little shorter than Makoto, he is fairly muscular. He has short straight black hair, blue eyes and always wears a serious expression. Though a very handsome young man, he can be unbearably stubborn. A true stick-in-the-mud. 

_There he goes again._

“I’ve been doing fine swimming the same way. I don’t see why I need to try another way.”

“Haru!” 

Makoto calls out to his best friend as he approaches the bickering pair.

“Makoto?”

“Thank God you’re here, kid. Talk some sense into him please.” Azuma says as he rubs his temples.

“I’m saying I don’t need to change my swimming.”

_I got this._

And thus, Makoto begins to show off his super Haru-persuading skills.

“When you cook mackerel, do you always flavour it the same way?” 

“No, of course not. Most of the time I only use salt, but yesterday I tried teriyaki sauce.”

“How was it?”

“It was good. I might cook it again like that.”

“Doing something one way is good, but sometimes you may try something new and find that it is just as good. I think that’s what Coach Azuma is trying to say.”

“.........I’ll try your way now.”

And with that, Haruka dives back into the pool and begins to swim in the way Coach Azuma has been trying to get him to do for the past hour. Azuma thanks Makoto but also apologies for always asking him to talk to Haruka. Makoto smiles and says he doesn’t mind, for he only wants his friend to be the best he can.

Two weeks passes, Makoto visits the pool again so they can have dinner together at their middle school friend, Asahi’s older sister's cafe. And as expected, Haruka is refusing to do what his coach is telling him to do. Makoto heaves a big sigh and shakes his head. He watches from the entrance to understand the situation before stepping in. 

“Excuse me.”

“Ah, sorry!” Makoto quickly steps aside and a girl smaller than him walks past. A sweet floral scent floats in the air where she was. Makoto catches the scent and can’t help but be lured by it. His eyes follow the girl like a magnet, watching her tiny back as she walks to the other end of the pool, where another training session between a young female swimmer and a middle-aged male coach is happening.

Makoto snaps back into reality as he remembers why he was there in the first place and once again steps in to save Azuma’s day. With a simple anecdote on preparing mackerel, Haruka follows his coach’s instructions like the argument before did not happen at all.

“Thanks, kid. Needing someone else to talk to my own athlete, some coach I am.”

“I’m sure that’s not the case. Haru’s language is a little different, we just need to know how to talk to him.”

“I don’t know what I’ll do without you.”

Makoto watches over his friend with kind eyes, warmth spreading across his chest as he thinks about how amazing Haruka is to be aiming for the world. Just then, he notices something from the corner of his eye. He glances over at the other training session. 

The girl is moving her hands around in an orderly manner as the coach speaks to the swimmer. The swimmer watches the girl’s hands intently and nods every so often. Makoto watches the curious scene attentively. He didn’t realise before, but the girl is very attractive. She is slim with fair skin, dark brown hair tied in a low messy bun and gentle green eyes. She wears a blue top and white shorts. From her looks, she must be around the same age as him.

“That’s Coach Rio and his kid. They’ve been using this pool for the past two weeks. It seems that his kid can’t hear.”

Makoto starts. The girl in between is using sign language to convey the coach’s instructions. The swimmer signs what must be questions, the girl verbally tells the coach, and signs back the coach’s answers. _Wow..._ Makoto can’t help but stare at them in amazement. 

The swimmer dives back into the pool after receiving the advice. The girl watches her friend practise, but suddenly feels that someone is watching her. Her eyes travel to the other end of the pool and make eye contact with the boy she walked past. A tall, muscular boy with broad shoulders, who looks to be around her age. A fine chiseled face with shaggy olive brown hair and green eyes. He wears a loose dark blue T-shirt and jeans. With looks and a physique like his, any girl would swoon over him. Mariko, though admitting to herself that he is indeed very attractive, she won’t be swooning over him any time soon. She gives him a kind smile. Embarrassed that he’s been found, Makoto blushes and returns her smile.


	2. Chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto slowly begins to take interest in the interpreter.

Makoto returns home after dinner. His attention was occupied by Haru and Asahi’s antics at the cafe that he didn’t have time to reflect on the day. The face of the girl immediately pops into his head as he steps through the door. 

_ Who is she? _

_ What’s her name? _

_ I wonder if she goes to my university. _

Questions about the girl swim around in his head as he removes his clothes piece and piece and steps into the shower. He turns on the hot water, letting it run down his body to the drain. Somehow, this action of taking a shower only made him more curious about her. He decides to visit the pool tomorrow. 

True to his words, he visits the pool the next day after his classes. His eyes immediately search for the one he is looking for. There she is again, interpreting the conversation between the coach and his athlete. He observes her carefully. 

“Makoto.”

“Ah! Haru! You scared me!”

“What are you looking at?”

Haruka follows his gaze. Having zero interest, he utters ‘Let’s go.’ quietly and walks off. Makoto unwillingly looks away and hurries after him.

The girl looks over at the pair leaving, her eyes focused on the back of the taller one with broad shoulders and olive brown hair. 

She feels someone tap her shoulder. She turns around.

“Are you ok, Mariko?” Her friend signs.

Her friend, Nozomi is a petite one. She wears a dark blue one piece swimming costume, with her hair securely tucked in her cap. She hangs a white towel over her shoulders, she had just stepped out of the pool for a drink and noticed her friend staring blankly at a distance.

“I’m ok, Nozomi. Who are the two guys who left just now?” Mariko signs back. 

“Coach introduced us on the first day we came here. The one with black hair is called Haruka Nanase. He’s also a competitive swimmer. I don't know who the other one is though.”

“I see…” Mariko whispers to herself.

Both Mariko and Makoto continued to go to the pool everyday for the next week. It is normal for Mariko to be there every training session, but it is a little strange for Makoto to be there for seven consecutive days. So much so that Haruka begins to wonder why.

“Makoto, why are you here everyday?”

“To see you.” Makoto panics and blurts out an answer.

“I see….” Haruka is not convinced. 

Although having Makoto there every day has made Azuma’s job easier, he too has begun to question his constant visits. While Haruka is practising, Azuma decides to turn his attention to the tall gentle boy. He follows the boy’s line of sight and lands on Mariko signing. He chuckles and smirks to himself. 

_ Youth… _

He thinks to himself before calling out to his athlete.

“Nanase! Take ten minutes!” Azuma then grabs the attention of the other coach. “Coach Rio, may I ask you something?”

Coach Rio instructs Nozomi to take a break as well and steps out with Azuma, leaving the four kids alone.

Nozomi steps out of the pool slowly, careful not to slip on the cold wet floor. She politely takes the towel offered by Mariko and dries her exposed arms and legs. Feeling quite thirsty after swimming a few laps, she signs that she’s going to get a drink and makes her way to the vending machines outside.

Makoto helps Haruka out of the pool with his strong hand and hands him a towel. Haruka receives it and tosses it over his head. He then announces that he is going to the washroom and swiftly exits. 

The only ones left at the pool are exactly who we think they are. 

With the lack of people, the pool has gotten quite quiet. The sound of slow flowing water has echoes around the room. The girl walks over to a corner and retrieves her bag. She reaches in and pulls out her phone. She seems to be checking her messages. Makoto shifts around uncomfortably, one leg desperate to go to her and the other insists on staying put. But the power of curiosity wins. Unable to suppress his curiosity any longer, Makoto approaches the mysterious girl.


	3. Sign Language

“Umm…”

“Yes?” Mariko turns around to see a very nervous Makoto standing behind her. 

“Ummm….I’m...Makoto Tachibana. Nice to meet you!”

“I’m Mariko Nishimiya. Nice to meet you too.”

_ Now what?!  _ Makoto searches in his head for something to say. He clearly didn’t think it through.  _ Oh yes! _

“I heard your friend is a competitive swimmer. Haruka is too.”

“Haruka, ah the person who trains here too. Yes, Nozomi-chan is a competitive swimmer.”

“Umm, I saw you doing something when Nozomi-san and her coach were speaking to each other.”

“Ah, I’m their interpreter. Nozomi-chan is deaf, so I help to interpret their discussions every training session.”

“How did you become their interpreter?” Now very intrigued, Makoto takes one step towards her. 

_ He’s handsome with a cute voice _ . Mariko thinks to herself. Now that he is closer, she can see every detail of his handsome face. Definitely someone all the girls would swoon over. But of course, not Mariko. At least, not now. Mariko looks straight into his sparkling emerald eyes and answers his question seriously.

“I went to visit Nozomi-chan during her training session one day. I saw that she and her coach were using paper and pen to communicate. It looked troublesome so I stepped in to sign what the coach wanted to say. He asked me if I could come every session and I’ve been doing that ever since.”

_ Wow! _ Makoto stares at her in awe. He’s never met anyone like her before.  _ So she uses sign language to help the swimmer and her coach communicate with each other. It must be quite tough to have to do it all the time. How did she learn sign language? How long has she been learning it? If I learn it, I can assist hearing impaired competitors too. _

“Tachibana-san?”

“Eh?” Makoto was so distracted by her story and he didn’t hear what she said. His ears flushed red with embarrassment.

“Are you Coach Ryuji’s assistant?”

“Me? Oh, no. I’m just Haru’s friend.”

“I see...you looked like an assistant. You come here often, don’t you?”

“Sometimes, to see Haru.” That’s a lie. He’s been using that as an excuse to see her. 

Makoto continues.

“I don’t know much about sign language, but it looks interesting.”

“I can teach you.”

“Eh! You would?”

“Of course. Here, I’ll show you.” Mariko steps beside him. Their shoulders are almost touching. Makoto’s heart starts to race as he can see her beautiful face even clearer now. Compared to his big muscular body, she is considerably smaller. Makoto suddenly feels a tiny urge to hug the tiny girl. Paying no mind, Mariko proceeds to teach him. 

“I’ll teach you some simple phrases. This is how you say hello. Imagine your face is a clock. Put two fingers at twelve o’clock. Then pretend your index fingers are people, have them bow at each other.”

“Like this?” Makoto does what she says carefully.

“Yes, very good! This is how you say ‘please treat me well.’ Put your fist in front of your nose. Then open your hand, keep it upright and do a bow with them.”

Makoto does it perfectly again, earning another praise from Mariko. This makes him feel a little shy and he blushes even more. Mariko then teaches him how to say goodbye, sorry and other greetings.

Haruka watches the pair from the entrance with a blank expression. His deadpan expression makes him completely unreadable. He enters, tosses the towel hanging from his shoulder onto the cold floor and dives straight back into the pool without a second thought.


	4. Makoto's Thoughts

“This is how you say thank you.”

“..........”

“And this is how you say sorry.”

“.................”

“And this is another way to say sorry but you only use this with friends and family.”

“Makoto.”

“Yes?”

Makoto turns to his friend. They are at his apartment with the intention to study but ever since Haruka arrived, Makoto has been showing him all the basic greetings Mariko had taught him the day before. Ignoring others is a special skill Haruka possesses. He is capable of tuning out of a conversation by thinking of the one he adores the most, water. The sparkling blue body that entices him to remove all his clothing and dive in immediately. However he too has limits. 

For some reason, his friend going on and on about a person he has no idea about made him very irritated. The more he talked about this girl, the more it felt like a needle that was already pricking him is pricking him harder. His eyebrows twitch with agitation. Every time he tried to go to his happy place, Makoto would intercept with another comment either on how smart she is or a sign language greeting she taught him.  _ I don’t care, stop telling me. _

Makoto seems to pick up on his thoughts. He immediately halts his train of thought and frantically apologises.

“Sorry! I went overboard, didn’t I?” Makoto’s face turns bright red after realising he has been talking about nothing but Mariko.   
  


“Not really….” Totally not feeling jealous or anything, Haruka whispers and glares at his report even more.

……………….

An awkward silence ensues. 

Haruka, although sensing the awkwardness, pays no mind to it and continues with his work. His pen moves swiftly across the paper. Makoto attempts to return to his work but it has become physically impossible to move his hand. His mind is filled with Mariko and their conversation from yesterday. He keeps his mouth shut, stopping it from blurting out another word about her. The inability to say anything about her only fueled his desire to talk about her more. He fidgets in his seat, the words in his textbook gradually becoming unfocused and blurring into one another. His lips tremble, itching to mention the name of the girl he has grown quite attracted to. A drop of cold sweat drips down to his chin from his forehead. 

“Sigh…..” Haruka resigns and puts his pen down. He reaches into his pocket and takes out his phone. 

Makoto looks at him curiously as he dials a number. Haruka puts the phone on speakers, leaves it on the table and lets it ring. A voice of a young girl answers after three rings.

“Hello? Haruka-senpai?”

“Gou. I have a request.”

“What is it?”

“Makoto is in love with a girl.”

“WHAT?!?!” Both Makoto and Matsuoka Gou, their kouhai and the current manager of their high school swim club, shouted in surprise. 

“Haru, what are you telling her?!?!”

“Makoto-senpai, is that true?!?!”

Makoto struggles for a reply. Does he lie or does he tell the truth? If he lies, she’ll sense that he isn’t telling the truth and grill him on it. Gou is a very smart girl. If he tells the truth, she’ll get even more excited and grill him on it. Either way, the result will be the same. Admitting his defeat, he hangs his head and chooses one.

“Yes, it’s true.”

“We must prepare the wedding!” A chirpy young male voice sounds from the phone.

“Nagisa?!” Makoto panics.  _ Oh no. Not Nagisa. Anyone but him. _

Nagisa calls their friend, Rei over and all three of Haruka and Makoto’s kouhais begin to squeal excitedly into the phone. Makoto becomes even more frantic and his face now resembles a deliciously ripe tomato. 

While on the other hand, Haruka calmly writes his report.

Wedding plans are in order. Gou decides to have the wedding at a park with a lake, attendees are to be in formal dressing, no exceptions. Upon hearing the word ‘lake’, Haruka’s face lights up and strongly agrees to it. The bride would be in a stunning white gown and the groom would be in a smart tuxedo. There would be an aisle in between the audience, leading to an arc of white and pink flowers. Gou declares she would be the wedding planner. Nagisa and Rei are fighting over who would be the best man which results in them yelling into the phone, demanding for their senpai to choose. 

Gou pushes the boys away and speaks seriously to Makoto.

“Listen, Makoto-Senpai. Girls don’t like boys who are wishy-washy. If you like her, ask her out on a date.”

“Uhh…” He doesn’t know how to react to receiving his first ever relationship advice.

“The next time you see her, ask her out on a date. Understand?”

“Umm….”

“Understand??”

“Yes, mam….”

Nagisa and Rei give their well wishes and run off searching for a tuxedo for their best friend. Makoto heaves a huge sigh as he hangs up. A swimming competition is less stressful than this. He deflates and puts his head on the table, absolutely exhausted.

Haruka is still doing his report, unfazed.

A few days later, Makoto is attending his lecture in a huge lecture hall. He is wearing his glasses, diligently listening to the lecturer and writing down all the important points. He doesn’t miss a beat. Listening and writing. Listening and writing. His focus is on understanding today’s lesson. Thus he repeats these actions for the entirety of this class. You could say that he is the only one listening in class. Students usually take these big lectures as a chance to do something else like play video games or take a nap like some are doing right at this moment.

  
  
  


Two hours later, the lecture finally ends. He stands up and does a big stretch. His energy has drained from trying to understand today’s complicated topic. He needs to go back home and revise his notes again. But first, lunch. All that thinking has made him very hungry. He packs up and exits the hall with the rest of his classmates. As he steps out, he looks from his left to his right. Does he go to the cafeteria and eat there or does he make something at home? Hmmm…..mm? Is that? 

A familiar figure is walking in the direction of the university cafeteria. A petite girl with shiny brown hair tied in a low bun. Makoto peers harder…..it is her! Makoto starts running. He runs, getting closer and closer to the girl and calls out her name.

“Nishimiya-san!”

The girl stops walking. She turns her head around slowly. Her beautiful green eyes look to see the one who called her. 

“Tachibana-san? You go to this university too?”

“Uh...yes! Did you just come out of the lecture over there?” He points to the lecture hall.

“Yes, I study Sports Medicine.”

“What a coincidence. Me too!”

“No way!” Mariko exclaims in surprise. She sounds a little too surprised. But Makoto doesn’t seem to notice. 

“Um, I have to go to work in a bit so I’m going to have lunch now. See you later!” she says goodbye and scurries away. 

Oh no, she’s leaving. Say something.  _ Say something! _

“I was thinking!” Makoto blurts out. 

It has proven successful. Mariko has once again stopped in her tracks and turned around to face him. She looks at him curiously.

Makoto breaks into cold sweat. His heart is racing at a thousand miles and his mouth itches to say something but his brain is being rather reluctant in letting it. 

There is no more time to lose. She will think he’s a weirdo and will leave if he continues to stay silent. He straightens his back and looks forward with determined eyes.

“I was thinking...if...you’d like to go have lunch together?”


End file.
